The Mystery Of Beauregard Mansion
by Scoobyfan1
Summary: <html><head></head>This is my retelling of the movie "Scooby Doo Meets The Boo Brothers", only without Scrappy or the Boo Brothers and with Fred, Daphne and Velma as they were not in the original movie. Pairings: Fred/Daphne, Shaggy/Velma. Rated T for possible plot diciness later on.</html>
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Scooby Doo and all related characters and trademarks are copyright 2011 Hanna-Barbera Productions/Warner Brothers/Cartoon Network; also I am not making any money off of this story. This story is heavily based on the Hanna Barbera Productions produced syndicated movie "Scooby-Doo Meets The Boo Brothers". This story will have similar dialogue, similar plot lines, and most of the same characters from the movie; however the Boo Brothers and Scrappy-Doo will not be included in this story while the characters Fred, Daphne and Velma will be included as they were not in the original movie. This will also include spoilers, if you have not seen the movie.

Author's Notes #2: My inspiration for writing this story came from reading Evelyn Knight's story "The Secret of Beauregard Mansion", which was an excellent story (and if she reads this story, hopefully she'll rewrite her story).

Chapter 1

It all started pretty innocently enough for Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, as he was checking his mailbox one afternoon at his small one bedroom home in the town of Coolsville, Ohio and was leafing through the usual assortment of bills, junk mail and assorted other pieces of mail that usually were delivered by the neighborhood postman.

It wasn't that Shaggy didn't mind getting mail, far from it; he was always happy when the postman came, but that was only when he got good news or didn't get bills. Bills usually made him squirm or grimace, because after all, mystery solving didn't pay the electric, light and cable bills; or at least not as much as they used to.

Considering he was a part of a very talented group of adolescent sleuths, Shaggy was happy when a mystery came, even though he didn't like to admit it. Because mysteries usually had him and the gang going to creepy places, like haunted houses, gloomy mansions, or any number of other unsettling destinations; and those places usually had ghosts or monsters, which was something Shaggy didn't like at all.

Even though every ghost, monster or creature, or rather most of them, that the gang faced were downright phony, Shaggy still jumped a bit or found himself trembling, nervous and frightened at the sight of any spook, specter or spirit, no matter how many of them turned out to be frauds, or some person in a mask trying to keep people away.

In his career as a detective and during the time he spent with his friends, he found that he couldn't have picked three better companions, or a better pet and mascot, who shared a lot of his interests. The former were Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley, while the latter was a Great Dane named Scooby Doo; together the five young adults and their canine were the best of friends, no matter what they were doing.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for Shaggy Rogers, today's mail was going to bring him some rather interesting news, not to mention it would result in he and his friends becoming involved in yet another mystery. But this time, the members of Mystery Inc. were going to get involved in a case that had fairly high stakes and one that surrounded one of the members of the very group of sleuths itself to boot.

As he stood outside his mailbox, Shaggy wasn't really paying attention to what he was reading. For the most part, the green shirt clad young man was casually sorting through the mail, making sure there weren't any items that needed his immediate attention, or anything that he needed to pay before any specific services were cut off, considering he was only a mere college student and needed some of them.

However, every piece of mail that he held in his hands was that way, or that bad. After opening the month's cable bill, he sighed at what was written on the piece of paper inside, specifically at how much the bill cost.

He also secretly wished the cost of various utilities would go down, otherwise he would seriously need to take a job somewhere in town, which he definitely didn't want to do, considering he really didn't want to work that much for a living. However, his outlook was soon going to change, as while he was reading the mail, he noticed a large manila envelope sticking out from underneath the cable TV bill.

"Hmm... like what's this?" the college aged sleuth thought, holding the postmaster's deliveries in his hands as he walked back towards the porch.

Once Shaggy Rogers made it to the porch, he opened up the front door of his small house (which was unlocked of course, considering he only was outside for a few moments). The college aged detective then walked inside the house and into the well kept living room (which was surprising, even for someone who was as messy as Shaggy), where he was greeted by his pet and companion Scooby Doo, who was very happy to see him.

"Zoinks! Like hold on Scoob, wait a second!" Shaggy declared as the overzealous Great Dane ran over to him and began licking his face, which resulted in him being knocked to the floor, on his keister no less.

"Roops, rorry Rhaggy" the canine detective said, somewhat embarrassed as he led his master to his feet.

"That's OK old buddy, I guess you were just being friendly. Don't worry too much about it" Shaggy replied.

"Rhanks Rhaggy" Scooby responded.

After getting his bearings and making sure he wasn't going to fall on the floor again, Shaggy Rogers ventured over to a dark brown sofa towards the back of the living room, conveniently located only about fifty feet away from the kitchen as luck would have it. The adolescent sleuth, who still managed to keep the daily mail delivery in his grasp, then sat down on said sofa and placed the mail on the surface of the upholstery before looking over at his Great Dane, who ventured over to where his master was sitting with a curious look on his face.

"Rhaggy?" Scooby inquired.

"Like what's up Scoob?" Shaggy asked.

"Rhat's in the rail?" the canine wondered, noticing the small pile of letters and bills next to his companion on the sofa.

"Oh, like just bills and stuff, the usual mail that I get" Shaggy replied.

"Rhat about rhat renvelope?" Scooby inquired, noticing the manila envelope that was sticking out from under a few bills, while he waited patiently on the floor next to him.

"Like yeah, I guess I forgot about that. Maybe I should read it huh old buddy?" Shaggy said, reaching down to softly scratch his Great Dane's ears as he prepared to open the envelope.

"Reah, read it" Scooby agreed.

"Like OK, here goes" Shaggy replied, pulling out the manila envelope fully from the pile, so he could see it better, and so he could see who it was from and what it possibly contained.

The envelope was fairly thin, and seemed to be a few months old, judging by the postmark in the top right corner of it. The fact that the envelope wasn't very big or thick didn't seem to bother Shaggy very much, as he enjoyed getting letters from fans and admirers (the latter he seemed to have more of then the former for some reason, not that he minded it).

However, as he closely examined the envelope, he found himself with a bewildered, almost confused look on his face, especially at said postmark, but more specifically at what was written on the top left hand corner of it, where the return address was.

"Hmm... Like according to the return address, this was sent from the South. Who do I know that lives in that part of the country?" Shaggy wondered, looking down at the envelope, which was now on his lap.

"Raybe Rooby Rum, ror Ra and Ra Rillet?" Scooby suggested.

"Nah, they wouldn't send a letter to me in a manila envelope like this. The three of them are friends, and I don't think friends would send me a letter in a business like package such as this." Shaggy replied, shaking his head at his Great Dane's suggestion, which meant that there was no possible way the people and canine he and his friends had met for the first time during their investigation of the mystery of the Gator Ghoul had sent him the envelope.

"Rhy rot?" the canine sleuth inquired.

"Like I said, because the three of them are good friends, so they wouldn't want to send me something like this. They would send me a letter, or call me on the phone or something like that." Shaggy responded.

"Ri rhink I ret it; rut rif rhe retter's rot from Rooby Rum, or rhe Rillets, rho is it from?" Scooby asked.

"That's what I intend to find out" Shaggy replied, picking up the envelope from his lap and holding it in his hands once again.

Shaggy then turned the envelope over and noticed that the top of it was fastened with a small metal twist tie type object, which meant that it might be a little tough to open, at least at first. After a few moments of thinking, Shaggy came to the conclusion that with a bit of elbow grease, he might be able to open the envelope after all, so he took hold of the small metal twist tie and began working on it, hoping it would open for him.

Soon Shaggy was able to work the metal twist tie undone and within a manner of mere seconds, got the top flap of the envelope open, which produced a big smile on his face, not to mention a sense of accomplishment in his eyes as well. After getting the top flap of the envelope open, Shaggy reached inside the manila envelope and pulled out a small stack of papers, and what looked to be a small plastic pouch.

"Interesting, like I wonder why someone from the South would send me a bunch of papers and a small pouch?" Shaggy wondered aloud.

"Rhy ron't rou rook at the papers Rhaggy" Scooby suggested.

"Good thinking old buddy, I think I will" Shaggy answered.

So, taking the Great Dane's advice, the chicken hearted detective looked over the stack of papers that had been inserted into envelope by whomever sent it to him in the first place. The young man leafed through the stack, and was very interested, albeit a bit confused at what the papers were at first, until he came to the top of the stack that is.

"Like take a listen to this Scoob: Dear Norville Rogers, this is to inform you that your uncle, Colonel Nathaniel Beauregard has passed away. Colonel Beauregard was a fine individual and a great man to work for, but enough about that for now; according to Colonel Beauregard's will, you were one of his favorite relatives, and one of his last few living relatives at that. So, it is my duty to inform you, Norville Rogers, that your uncle has left you his entire estate, Beuregard Mansion, as well as all its contents, various memorabilia that the colonel collected, and all buildings on the grounds of the estate as well." Shaggy said, reading the paper, almost as if his spirits had been somewhat lifted.

"Rhaggy, ri ridn't rknow rou rhad a Runcle Reuregard" Scooby chimed in.

"Like you know Scoob, I didn't either. But it sounds like he was a cool guy; heck, he must be cool if he left me his entire estate and all items inside to boot." Shaggy replied.

"Raybe rho forgot about Runcle Reauregard rover the rears" Scooby suggested.

"Hmm... it's certainly possible Scooby old buddy. Although, come to think of it now I do remember an Uncle Beauregard, I think I might have spoken to him, or met him back when I was little, probably when I was three or four years old." Shaggy replied.

"Rhat's rossible" Scooby remarked.

"Like you know something, I do faintly remember an Uncle Beauregard. I kind of remember that he had a long beard, gray if I recall correctly, and was a real military man. Tough, but still a friendly guy; one thing I can't understand is why he would want to leave everything to me? I mean surely he had other relatives, right?" Shaggy wondered, before asking his canine companion for his opinion.

"Ri ruess, ralthough rit ras really rawesome rof him ro reave reverything ro you anyway" Scooby responded.

"Yeah, like I said before, it was really cool that he left his mansion and his grounds to me. Like I wonder what it looks like?" Shaggy thought, albeit aloud, as Scooby Doo could hear him speak.

"Raybe rhe rother papers rin the renvelope rill rell you" replied the canine Sherlock Holmes.

"It's possible Scooby, although I didn't look through much of the other papers. I think I should look through them though, just to see if there's any more information on the mansion or the grounds, or my uncle for that matter" Shaggy remarked as he resumed looking through the papers.

"Hmm... Like it looks like most of the papers in here are just directions to my uncle's mansion, a photocopy of the will, which I better keep track of, and a few other odds and ends. Although, there is the matter of that small plastic pouch" the chicken hearted young individual said as he picked up said object and held it in his hand.

"Raybe rhere's romething rimportant rin the rouch Rhaggy" Scooby replied.

"Maybe there is old buddy, maybe there is. I think i'll open it and see what it is, to make sure its something important" Shaggy responded.

"Rokay Rhaggy" Scooby answered.

So, after placing the papers back on the sofa, Shaggy slowly but surely opened the small see through plastic pouch and pulled out a small metal key. The young man hypothesized a bit at the key, at how it looked, how it was cut and just generally what it possibly could open; maybe it was a car key, or an apartment key, or perhaps even a house key, but whatever it was Shaggy knew that it was important.

"Hmm... Like why would my Uncle or whoever sent this to me include a small plastic pouch with a key in it of all things?" Shaggy wondered.

"Raybe rit is a rouse rey Rhaggy" Scooby replied.

"You know old buddy, I think you might be right, I think this is a house key. But, why would my Uncle want me to have a house key?" Shaggy thought.

Shaggy leaned back in his seat on the sofa, trying to figure out why his relative had sent him the plastic pouch, and why he would need a house key in the first place. Then, something hit the college student like a bolt of lightning, and he had a major realization on why he now possessed the key.

"Like that's it! I know why my uncle sent me the house key; he sent it to me, or rather he probably had his attorney or whoever was in charge of the estate send it to me so that I could get in the mansion when I travel there" Shaggy explained, albeit aloud.

"Rood rhinking Rhaggy, rhat ras to re it" Scooby replied.

"Like now all that I have to do is read the rest of the letter, and see what else my uncle's planned for me." Shaggy remarked.

"Rokay Rhaggy" Scooby answered.

Shaggy sighed and took a deep breath as he read and reread the rest of the letter. The first portion of the letter was pretty much what Shaggy had already known, that his uncle had passed away and that he had been left the entire estate and all surrounding area, and property.

But the remainder of the letter said that there were other papers in the pile that had instructions about what he was to do once he got to the mansion, as well as the directions to it, and a few miscellaneous other things about the estate that his uncle thought he needed to know.

Once he got done with the letter fully, he had realized that his uncle's attorney had been given the papers, including the copy of the will, as well as the pouch and key. Once his uncle's attorney acquired the items, he sent them off to Shaggy, who it was explained in the letter, was to immediately make preparations to travel to the estate immediately after receiving the envelope.

Shaggy was a bit unsure of this, he was a student at Coolsville University after all, and didn't want to miss any classes, but once he realized that this was a golden opportunity for a vacation (which he desperately needed, like anyone in his situation would) and that he was inheriting an entire southern estate, he made the decision to take a break from college and travel to the Southern US, to met his obligations.

The young man though was very happy to find out that his uncle, and his attorney were very understanding and friendly, specifically that in the letter it mentioned that Shaggy was welcome to bring any friends with him to the mansion, to stay there as well as help him keep up the house, in any fashion or any manner that they saw fit.

"Like this is great, I can bring you with me Scoob" Shaggy said, as the Great Dane sauntered over to him and began licking his face.

"Reah, ri rove rhe Routh" Scooby responded with a big smile on his face.

"Like I know you do old pal, but could you do me one favor" Shaggy replied.

"Rure, rhat is it?" Scooby asked.

"Could you not lick my face so much; I mean I don't mind it, but maybe you can cut it out for a few minutes" Shaggy responded.

"Rokay Rhaggy" Scooby answered.

"I'm so glad my uncle is letting me bring friends with me, and I know exactly what friends I'm going to bring with me to my uncle's house" Shaggy replied.

"Ro rou? Rho ro rou rant to rome Rhaggy?" Scooby inquired.

"Like who else: Fred, Daphne and Velma" Shaggy answered.

"Rut Rhaggy, raren't rou, Fred, Raphne and Relma rin rlasses?" Scooby questioned

"Well, like we are in college classes, although the ones we're in are done for the day. Which is why I'm here now and checking the mail; so, I guess I might be able to finagle Fred and the girls to come with us. What do you think Scoob?" Shaggy asked, turning to his canine companion for advice.

"Ri rhink rhat's a great idea Rhaggy, rou rhould ro it. Rinvite Fred and the rirls to the mansion" Scooby replied.

"Good thinking old buddy, I just hope they're able to come with us" Shaggy responded.

"Rhy ron't rou rall them and ree" Scooby replied.

"Right, like let's hope they don't have anything planned" Shaggy remarked.

With that, Shaggy got up from the sofa and took the papers and plastic pouch with him. He then walked over to a wooden table, placed the envelope and its contents on said table and walked a few more feet over towards the small kitchen area.

On the wall, near a long wooden counter was a telephone, and next to it a note pad and pen. Shaggy looked over at the note pad, where he had written down several important phone numbers, and began looking for the numbers of each of his friends, which he found rather easily considering they were on the top of the pad.

"OK, like Fred's number is first; knowing him, he would probably love to come. Considering the fact that he and the girls can't resist haunted mansions" Shaggy quipped, dialing his friend's number as he spoke.

Shaggy held the receiver to his ear and waited for Fred Jones' phone to ring. Once, twice, and a third time the phone on the other end emitted a dial tone, which he heard through the receiver; when he was about to give up, he heard a familiar male voice through the phone and smiled broadly.

"Hello, this is Freddie Jones, can I help you?" the male voice asked.

"Fred? It's me Shaggy" the green shirt clad college student replied.

"Oh, hey Shaggy, what's up?" the unofficial leader of Mystery Inc. inquired.

"Well, like I was checking the mail and got a manila envelope. I checked the return address and thought who would want to send me something who lived in the South, but then I opened it and got one heck of a surprise" Shaggy explained.

"Whoa, like what Shaggy?" Fred asked, his curiosity having been piqued.

"Well, after I opened the envelope, I took out a whole bunch of papers from inside it. Plus there was a small plastic pouch with a key inside, and that's not all" Shaggy replied

"There's more? Do tell" Fred responded.

"Well, one of the papers was a letter from my Uncle Colonel Nathaniel Beauregard's attorney, informing me that he had passed away. The letter also said that he left his entire mansion and entire estate to me, lock, stock and barrel." Shaggy continued.

"Wow, that's pretty cool Shaggy, inheriting an entire Southern mansion and estate" Fred replied.

"Like it sure is; and the best part is the colonel and his attorney are allowing me to bring some friends. I'm already bringing Scooby along of course, and I figured you, Daphne and Velma would want to come too" Shaggy replied.

"Hmm... Well, Spring Break is coming up soon, and we've been looking for somewhere to go to on vacation. And maybe this mansion your Uncle left you is a nice place to go, or a nice place to spend a vacation; heck, old mansions are usually when we find mysteries, and a lot of them are really beautiful." Fred responded, thinking about.

"So Fred, what do you think? Are you going to come with me and Scooby to my uncle's mansion?" Shaggy inquired.

"You know Shaggy, I think I will; have you called Daph and Velma yet and told them the good news?" Fred asked.

"No, not yet, but I will; in fact, you were the first person who I decided to call. Partly because your number was at the top of the note pad where I have you and the girls' numbers written" Shaggy replied.

"Ah, I see; well, I won't keep you from your appointed task, I'll get started packing, and then after you call Daphne and Velma, the three of us will meet at your house, so you can fill us in on where the mansion is and things like that, OK?" Fred responded with a question of his own.

"Sounds good, talk to you later Fred" Shaggy replied.

"Right, and thanks for calling me and letting me know what was going on" Fred responded.

"No problem, bye for now" Shaggy replied, hanging the phone back up.

Shaggy Rogers then looked back at the note pad which was next to the phone, and looked at the next two numbers listed, which were that of his friend Daphne Blake, and his girlfriend Velma Dinkley. After picking up the receiver yet again, he dialed Daphne's number and soon found himself talking to his red haired fellow detective.

The sandy haired young sleuth then described the envelope that he had received to Daphne, and also described how he read the letter telling that his uncle had passed on, and that his relative left his entire estate to Shaggy. Daphne was very impressed by what he told her, and when he mentioned to the red head that his uncle let him bring friends along, she was ecstatic.

Although Daphne Blake was partly pleased due to the fact that she had always loved the movie Gone With The Wind, and that once Shaggy told her about the mansion, and the fact that his uncle was named Beauregard, her thoughts immediately went to Tara, the mansion in that movie. Maybe it was her love of that movie, or maybe it was her love of Southern mansions, but whatever it was, when the young man finished, she was more then happy to accompany he, Scooby and Fred to the Southern US.

After hanging up the phone, next up was Velma Dinkley, who didn't quite share Daphne's love of Southern mansions. But when she was told by Shaggy about what was going on, she smiled (which Shaggy could tell through the phone, considering her tone of voice) and immediately asked if the rest of the gang was coming along too.

Shaggy said yes, which gave Velma her answer on whether she wanted to go or not. After all, the two had been dating for a while and the bespectacled sleuth was more then happy to have the young man in a romantic destination, like spending a few days in an old fashioned Southern mansion.

Although Velma seemed to be more interested in the mansion, she still wanted to spend time with Shaggy Rogers, so she agreed to come along on the trip. Once Shaggy hung up the phone, he decided to start making a mental list of preparations, which if they were written down on paper, would reach a mile long, or more.

There was packing clothes, making sure the van was ready to go (which was outside of his house, in his driveway), and a few miscellaneous other items. Once the preparations for he and the gang's trip were finished, the sandy haired young man was ready to meet his friends, who were as eager as he was to begin the group's trip to Beauregard Mansion.

However, unbeknownst to him at the moment, the very mansion he and his friends were going to spend time in was going to be the site of one of the strangest mysteries the gang had ever encountered. In fact, while this one was going to involve some of the usual things Mystery Inc. dealt with, it would turn out to be one of the most dangerous ones the group had ever or would ever solve.

Author's Notes: Hope everybody liked this first chapter, and believe me, there's more to come. By the way, thanks again to Evelyn Knight, as her "Secret of Beauregard Mansion" story was my inspiration for writing this, and hopefully she will reupload it. Also, I am still writing, and I have plenty of stories to come for my watchers and people who have me on their favorite author's lists.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Mystery Machine puttered along a somewhat isolated country road on an equally dark night somewhere in the Southern United States, or the Deep South, if you were to call the region by its more popular name. The brightly colored van would naturally be a very strange sight, if one were to be on the same road as the famous vehicle, mostly because of its peculiar paint job.

But for the passengers inside the Mystery Machine, people looking at the vehicle and pointing out how odd the decorations on the van were happened to be pretty normal. Of course how normal is four college students and a Great Dane driving around the country in an oddly painted van solving mysteries, which is what most people would say upon looking at the vehicle.

For at least one of the passengers though, paint jobs, cars and people's opinions weren't the least bit interesting, and weren't what a certain someone was thinking about. That certain someone was Norville Rogers, or Shaggy if you prefer; the young man's thoughts were still circling about his head as he attempted to put the events of the last few days into their proper perspective.

Naturally this was going to take quite a while, considering a relative he had barely known and hadn't spoken to since he was a kid left him an entire Southern mansion and all of the surrounding buildings. In short, Norville Rogers was living the American dream; he was now the proud owner of a house, he had his friends with him (including Velma and Scooby) and he was going to see the mansion for the first time in years, to make sure it was still standing and presentable.

But as he sat in the back of the van with the two aforementioned sleuths nearby, something was still bugging him and making himself feel odd, despite being around friends.

In all the years he had gone on the gang's mysteries and during all the times that he helped catch crooks in frightening costumes, he had never felt this way before, in short it was almost as if the letter he received hadn't told him the entire story about Beauregard Mansion.

Maybe it was the atmosphere of the country road and the rain beginning to fall onto the van, which was easily disposed of thanks to the vehicle's ever reliable windshield wipers, or maybe it was the whole inheriting a mansion thing, but whatever it was, something inside the cowardly college student told him he and his friends were in for one heck of a mystery this time.

"Shaggy?" remarked a male voice from somewhere in the van.

The green shirted adolescent detective had been thinking over what he was going to do once he got to the mansion and had began to mentally make a list of questions to ask once he got to the estate when the familiar voice of the unofficial leader of the group of college aged sleuths came through and broke his thoughts, at least temporarily.

"Like what's up Fred?" Shaggy inquired.

"Well, we're all kind of curious about this mansion you inherited" Fred responded.

"Yeah, not to mention the fact that you have an uncle who would leave you an entire Southern estate." Daphne added.

"What I wouldn't mind knowing is was he really a colonel?" Velma asked.

"Like wait a minute gang, don't pepper me with questions really quick. Unless you guys let me take some time to individually respond to each question" Shaggy replied, chuckling a little as he spoke.

"OK Shaggy, we'll take our time." Daphne responded.

"Thanks." The green shirt clad sleuth replied.

"You're welcome. Let's start with the obvious question here: who is, or I guess was this Colonel Beauregard anyway?" Velma asked.

"Hmm… well, from what I know, have read, and have heard from my relatives about him, he's within my mom's side of the family." Shaggy replied.

"On your mother's side of the family? Hmm… interesting…" Velma remarked, holding up a finger to her chin in deep thought.

"Yeah, like from what my folks have told me over the years, he was a hero in the Civil War. Fought for the confederacy obviously…" Shaggy continued.

"Obviously…" Velma replied, now seemingly engrossed in what the young man was saying.

Of course the fact that he and she were dating had a lot to do with the fact that for some reason she couldn't stop from looking into his eyes. Maybe he had her under a spell, or maybe it was his story that had a hold on her, but somehow, someway she was hanging on his every word.

"Shaggy, I may not be as much of a bookworm as Velma, but one thing bothers me about this." Daphne spoke up from the Mystery Machine's front passenger seat.

"What's that Daphne?" Shaggy inquired.

"Your uncle is, or was a colonel in the Confederate Army it sounds like, right?" the red head asked.

"Sure, why?" Shaggy responded.

"If he was a colonel in the Confederate Army, and he was involved in the Civil War, then that would make him quite old when he passed away…" Daphne replied.

"I guess so, why do you ask?" Shaggy replied.

"Well, I'm not quite sure. Maybe it's nothing, and maybe it's something, but from the short of amount of things you've told us, I have a weird feeling…" Daphne remarked.

"Daphne, what kind of weird feeling could you possibly have? Surely all of this is legit, and surely Shaggy's uncle took care of all the signing the mansion over to him and all of that sort of stuff, so why would you think there's something fishy going on?" Fred inquired, while keeping his hands on the wheel, and his eyes on the road.

"I'm not saying it's something fishy. It's just, well… call it women's intuition, call it something that's bugging me, call it whatever you want, but I have a feeling we might be getting in over our heads this time." Daphne replied.

"Like Daphne, I don't think anything's going to happen to us. I know we've encountered a lot of creepy and scary things over the years, but I don't think anything is going to occur now." Shaggy remarked, looking at the front of the van at Daphne, before looking back at his bespectacled companion.

However, Shaggy in this case would be quite wrong, and Daphne would be quite right, as something was about to occur on the dark stretch of road the Mystery Machine was currently traveling down.

As the rain continued to splatter down on to the windshield of the aforementioned vehicle, the old and for all intensive stretch of road seemed to get even darker, as if that was at all possible.

As it was, the brightly colored green van seemed to provide the only color, or brightness in this particular area, which made the occupants of the vehicle a bit nervous. While she watched the rain fall, which seemed to be increasing every few minutes or so, Velma found herself feeling a bit anxious, which was an emotion she usually never felt, unless it was a very terrifying situation.

In addition to the rain, lightning and thunder flashed through the sky ever few moments, which caused the brunette to move ever closer to Shaggy and hold onto his shoulder for comfort.

Velma usually wasn't this afraid when it came to thunder and lightning, but something about the route the Mystery Machine was traveling caused her to become jumpy, and caused her to have feelings that normally she would never exhibit.

The route the van was traveling seemed to be a normal country road, that was true. But the fact that thunder, lightning and a rain storm were also added to the mix was what more then likely caused her to shiver a bit as she watched the passing scenery.

Trees, plants, the occasional farmhouse, a few silos and as you might expect a few dozen horses, cows and other assorted livestock and animal life dotted the landscape along the country road.

All of the above might have been seen during the daytime hours, but because it was nighttime, and that the weather seemed to be getting worse by the minute, the farmers of the era wisely put the cows and other livestock in well protected barns, which left the landscape somewhat barren and lonely.

With no cows, horses or other animal life to look at, Mystery Incorporated's Great Dane began to feel a bit nervous himself as he watched the van drive along the lonely country road.

Scooby Doo's teeth then started to chatter as the thunder and lightning seemed to get ever closer to the van, or at least that's what it felt like to him. With every thunderclap or lightning bolt that flashed across the sky, the chicken hearted Great Dane gulped quite audibly, which the rest of his companions heard quite clearly.

But of course, those weren't the only things that the canine sleuth heard, or felt for that matter. As he watched the lightning, thunder and rain, Scooby Doo could swear he was also beginning to see things as well as hearing things.

Specifically speaking, after the next lightning flash the Great Dane did somewhat of a double take. The reason being was that he could almost swear that he saw a very clear figure somewhere in the direction of a grove of Oak trees; the figure seemed to be hiding, and he seemed at least to Scooby's eyes to be very dressed in a very distinguished manner.

At the sight of this figure hiding behind the trees, the canine detective ambled over to where Shaggy was sitting and began pulling on his right pant leg. Naturally this made the sandy haired college student a bit curious, and also slightly annoyed, as he didn't know what the chicken hearted canine wanted from him.

"Like what's the matter Scoob?" Shaggy inquired.

The canine muttered something, albeit unintelligible, because he knew in his mind that he saw something. Whether or not his friends believed him though was another matter entirely, and as Shaggy and Velma watched him, he was going to try and prove that what he saw was not a mere figment of his imagination.

"He must be really uptight; I can't understand what he's saying." Velma added, thinking that maybe some Scooby Snacks might help the canine.

The Great Dane then stood on his hind legs in the van, and started an elaborate series of pantomimes, which Velma, Shaggy and Daphne attempted to decipher. Before long the canine was imitating a Confederate colonel, which surprised Shaggy to no end; the cowardly college student could almost swear the Great Dane was imitating his own Uncle Beauregard, but of course that wasn't true… or was it?

"Scooby, you've got to be joking. If what you're trying to tell me is true, then you saw my Uncle Beauregard's ghost somewhere behind the trees on the side of the road. But that's impossible, he's dead, and he couldn't be haunting the area." Shaggy remarked, unsure of what the canine was attempting to tell him, or even if he believed it for that matter.

"Rut ri rid ree rhim, rexactly rwhere rou raid." Scooby replied, teeth chattering away as he spoke.

"Now Scooby, you know that's a load of hooey. Shaggy's uncle can't be haunting the area, especially if he left the mansion and the grounds to him." Shaggy remarked.

"Rut ri raw rhim rith ry rown reyes." Scooby replied, still trying to get his companion to believe him.

"Sure you did Scoob, sure you did." Shaggy responded, looking a bit perturbed with his cowardly pet.

"Ro rother." The canine answered, shaking his head in disgust in the process.

After Scooby's apparent sighting of Shaggy's uncle's ghost, things quieted down a lot in the Mystery Machine. Except for the intermittent flashes of thunder and lightning, and the rainstorm, most of the rest of the ride to the Beauregard Plantation was pretty uneventful, or it would have been except for one thing.

About a half an hour passed since the Great Dane saw the ghost of Shaggy's uncle, and the Mystery Machine was continuing its way towards its destination. However, Scooby Doo once again felt and began seeing strange things; after a brief lightning flash the canine clearly saw a very familiar sight on the road in front of the Mystery Machine, but this time he felt he needed to do something to alert his friends.

Now Scooby Doo began barking up a storm, and was pointing wildly out the vehicle's windows towards the road itself. This naturally caused his friends to question his motives, and made each of them slightly annoyed at their pet and mascot's attempt to get their attention.

"What is it now Scooby?" Daphne asked, from the passenger's seat in the front of the van.

Yet again Scooby Doo's teeth were chattering, his knees were knocking together, and he felt as if something was going to happen. As he had been before, the canine was right about it, only this time the same figure that had been behind a grove of trees earlier was standing right in front of the van, which scared the Great Dane to no end.

Apparently Shaggy, Velma, Fred and Daphne weren't paying much attention to this, but knowing he had to help his friends, whether they wanted his help or not, Scooby decided to take decisive action.

In this case, the cowardly Great Dane decided to leap over into the front seat and take control of the van, and the steering wheel, which surprised Fred and made the rest of the group wonder what he was attempting to do.

"Scooby! What is the matter with you? Let go of the steering wheel!" Fred implored, trying to get the Great Dane to get back to his seat next to Shaggy and Velma.

However, a few moments later the Mystery Machine and its passengers were about to get some unwanted attention, thanks to their Great Dane and him trying to escape a ghost, which no one else in the group seemed to see.

As Scooby Doo swerved all over the road, and attempted to do the best job of driving he could do, for a dog, a black and white police car with a star on the door started to approach on the right side of the Mystery Machine.

"All right, you just pull it on over there doggy…"a bald headed older man said from the vehicle, albeit loudly enough for Fred to her it; however, after a brief second, he did a double take and looked over again at the green van.

"Doggy? Boy, I have got to get my eyesight checked." The rather rotund individual continued, after taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes.

The gentleman was wearing a grey, almost tan colored hat, a gold badge on his lapel, along with a tan colored vest and blue jeans. Upon first glance, he would seem to be a local authority figure, which is exactly what the members of Mystery Inc. thought as he kept his car alongside the Mystery Machine.

"I guess I better pull over and see what he wants." The blond college student remarked as he turned the van's steering wheel and pulled over to the side of the country road, with the flashing blue and red lights and the siren accompanying the police car as it parked next to the colorfully painted vehicle.

"What seems to be the problem sheriff?" Fred inquired, while speaking in a tone of voice that indicated that he didn't want to get in trouble with the local authorities.

"Well, for one thing I clocked you going about 50 miles an hour in a 35 mile per hour zone." The individual replied.

"Sorry about that sir. I guess I didn't notice how fast I was going; I was trying to get our Great Dane to get to the back of the van, and I, well I guess I forgot to look at the speedometer." Fred explained, although the blond college student's explanation didn't seem to please the local authority figure very much.

"I see. Let me see your license son..." the man replied, with somewhat of a straight face.

Fred complied rather quickly with the individual's request and reached into his right jeans pocket. He then pulled out his wallet and took out his driver's license, before handing it to the bald headed individual; once the authority figure had the small plastic card, Fred placed the wallet back in his pants pocket and waited for the man to hand the driver's license back to him.

"Hmm… according to this you're from out of state. Now why would someone from out of state be down in this part of the country?" the man asked.

"Like my friends and I are in this part of the country because my uncle Beauregard left me his estate." Shaggy replied from the back of the van; although he had moved closer to the front so he could speak with the man and so he wouldn't have to yell very much.

"Beauregard? Interesting… just what is your name son?" the man inquired, now somewhat curious about who he was speaking to.

"I'm Norville Rogers, but my friends call me Shaggy. In the front driver's seat of the van is Fred Jones, in the front passenger's seat is Daphne Blake, and in the back is my girlfriend Velma Dinkley, and my Great Dane Scooby Doo." Shaggy replied.

"Please to meet all of you, I'm the sheriff in this neck of the woods. Rufus Busby is what they call me, at least if you're not committing a crime that's what you can call me." The man responded.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Sheriff Busby." Shaggy replied.

"Likewise. You four seem to be fairly young, are ya'll still in school?" the sheriff inquired.

"Yes actually. Right now we're all on a break from Coolsville University, up in Ohio." Velma replied.

"Ah, that's a nice part of the country. Now, you said you're looking for the Beauregard Plantation right?" the sheriff asked.

"Like sure, that's why we came here after all." Shaggy replied.

"Well, I can tell you that's it's down the road a piece. But, I would suggest that if you have any business in the Beauregard house, you complete it rather quickly." The sheriff remarked.

"Like why sir?" Shaggy inquired.

"Because it's fairly well known in these parts that the Beauregard estate is haunted. Anyone who's foolish enough to go traipsing around in that place is just asking for trouble." Sheriff Busby replied.

"Like h-haunted?" Shaggy asked, with a quivering tone of voice.

"Yes. The locals all say that all sorts of ghosts and spirits haunt the place, scaring any intruders or anyone curious enough to investigate the house away." The sheriff clarified.

"No offense sheriff, but we've been through this sort of thing before." Fred replied.

"Right. In addition to being college students, we're also very thorough and successful supernatural detectives; we've investigated tons of haunted houses in our time, and none of them have been really that haunted." Daphne added.

"I see. So, I would imagine you're still going to visit the Beauregard place, in spite of the ghosts there." Sheriff Busby replied, still attempting to discourage the group from continuing on.

"You would be right about that Sheriff. We don't scare that easily." Velma remarked.

"Like sp-speak for yourself my dear. I'm not going anywhere near a place with a bunch of ghosts hanging around; and I don't care if my uncle did leave me the place, I'm not going there, and neither is Scooby, right old buddy?" Shaggy asked, slightly nudging the canine sitting next to him.

"R-reah, re're rot roing ro rhe ransion." Scooby replied.

"Hmm… if I didn't know any better, I would swear that dog talked. Although if he did he's very smart, I wouldn't go there either if I were you kids." Sheriff Busby commented.

"Actually sheriff, he does talk. But our minds are made up; Shaggy's uncle left him the estate, and we're going with him to check the place out." Fred replied.

"Very well. Don't say I didn't warn y'all." Sheriff Busby said as he began heading back towards his police car; although the unofficial leader of the group did have one more piece of business with him.

"Sheriff? You still have my driver's license, and it would be nice if I had it back." Fred explained.

The sheriff then looked down at his hand, and saw that he still had the small plastic card with Fred's name and information on it, so he did the honorable thing and returned it to him.

"Thank you sheriff." The blond sleuth said as he returned the license to his wallet.

"Think nothing of it son. You and your friends just remember what I said, and be safe." The sheriff replied, before walking back to his vehicle, getting inside it, starting it and taking off in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, back inside the Mystery Machine, after seeing that everything was in order and that his license was in his wallet, and Scooby was back in his place in the back, Fred started the multi colored van and Mystery Incorporated started on their way to the Beauregard Mansion.

But on the way, they would encounter a few more spooks, and before this adventure was over, Shaggy would discover a very carefully guarded family secret.

Author's Notes: Sorry about taking so long to type this chapter and upload it. I lost inspiration after a while, but now I have it back and will try to update my works a lot sooner; hopefully everybody will stick with me and will read my stories as always.


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